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Snow White
Snow White is the titular character and protagonist of Disney's first animated feature-length film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She is portrayed by Adriana Caselotti. She is a young princess; the "Fairest of Them All", who, in her innocence, cannot see any of the evil in the world. This makes her more vulnerable to her jealous stepmother, The Evil Queen, who wishes to be the fairest in the land; however, Snow White's inherent kindness and purity inspires her friends, the woodland animals and the Seven Dwarves, to protect her. In the film, she is both a protective mother figure and an innocent child in her relationship with the forest animals and the Seven Dwarves. Early Life Snow White was born into the royal family. Her mother died shortly after her birth. After some time, Snow White's father remarried a vain and cold-hearted queen. Not long after their marriage, the King, Snow's beloved father, suspiciously died, leaving the young princess an orphan. As a young child, Snow White's vain and wicked stepmother the Evil Queen feared that one day Snow White's beauty would surpass her own. So, she dressed Snow White in rags and forced her to work as a scullery maid to try to quench her growing beauty. Each day, the Queen consulted her magic mirror asking, "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" As long as the Mirror answered, "You are the fairest one of all," Snow White was safe from her stepmother's cruel jealousy. Snow White may have been a maid but she never complained when she worked and whenever she was sad she would always hum a tune to cheer herself up and her animal friends would visit. The people of the kingdom felt sorry for their princess when the Evil Queen made her a servant, but they could not rebel due to the Queen's power. Personality Snow White is well known for her kindness and optimism—both of which act as her greatest strengths, as they've guided her safely through the various hardships faced throughout her life. She is quick to charm, winning the trust and admiration of the Prince, forest animals, and the seven dwarfs rather quickly, proving her kindness and pleasant aura makes her a beloved figure. Coined as the "Fairest one of All", Snow White's beauty lies both within her physical appearance and pure heart. With no negativity within her, Snow White is the physical embodiment of positivity and innocence. She can also be playful, and somewhat sassy, as she takes advantage of Grumpy's sour disposition and initial dislike for her by teasing him, and continuously ignoring his rude remarks by keeping a soft smile or cheery glow, as opposed to acting out of shock, much to Grumpy's annoyance. Though generally childlike and gentle, Snow White can also be assertive, with the authoritative nature of a mother. Once she takes residence within the cottage of the seven dwarfs, Snow White takes control of the household, turning it from an unkept hovel to a clean and humble environment, something the dwarfs show acceptance and delight over. She furthered her authority by giving the dwarfs a designated bedtime, as well as forcing them to wash in order to eat dinner; though they showed great reluctance and made attempts to avoid the situation, they were ultimately unable to bypass Snow White's firm attitude. In addition, she showed leadership potential when guiding the animals around the house during their cleaning session, successfully instructing them on how to best clean the house and various items inside. Having been turned a slave in her own home by the Evil Queen at a relatively early age, Snow White is hard-working. In spite of her servant work being forced upon, she was shown efficient with her chores. In the dwarfs cottage, she didn't hesitate to clean the household upon discovering how filthy it was, never minding the work that had to be put into such a task. She doesn't take her blessings of finding shelter in the dwarfs' cottage for granted, instead making the decision to work for her residence. Possibly Snow White's greatest flaw is also her greatest strength. Due to her strong sense of kindness and goodwill upon others, the princess can be manipulated to rebel against the orders of others, such as when she invited the old crone (believing her to be a harmless, and sickly peddler woman) into he cottage for health care, disobeying the dwarfs' orders to stay away from strangers to do so. This would result in her downfall. However, as mentioned above, her loving heart is ultimately able to prevail, as her mutual love for the Prince ultimately saves her life, proving both the dangers and advantages of having a pure heart, and making her a more human character. Physical Appearance Snow White is a 14-year old girl often described as the "fairest in the land." The phrase "lips red as a rose, hair black as ebony, and skin white as snow", describes her most notable features, being her rosy red lips and rosy cheeks, and both her hair and skin color. She is sweet, but also shy. Being fairly short in height, Snow White also has a rather slender, flat-chested figure and dainty little feet. Her simple signature court dress consists of a dark blue bodice with a high white collar; her short puffy sleeves are a lighter blue color than her bodice and the red cloth poking through exemplify the "slashing" design, which was very fashionable in Tudor times. It involved cutting the cloth on the outside of the outfit and pulling through another layer of cloth from underneath. The long and shapeless yellow skirt has a white petticoat with tan pumps decorated with yellow bows and flows right down to her ankles. Snow White's short black hair is styled in a bob and parted in the middle. She wears a red headband with a bow. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The Evil Queen, jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty, forces Snow White to work as a scullery servant in her castle; even in rags and clogs, however, her beauty shines through, causing the Queen to worry that Snow White's beauty may one day surpass her own. She has such vanity that she consults her Magic Mirror every day, ordering the slave within to reveal the name of the fairest in the land. Every day the spirit says that the Queen is the fairest, and she is content, until the mirror informs her that Snow White has finally become the fairest in the land. ]] Outside, as Snow White works, she then tells a group of doves a secret about the well she is drawing water from and tells them it's a wishing well and then sings "I'm Wishing", attracting the attention of the Prince, who is passing by. As she sings into the well, performing a duet with her echo, she is startled as the Prince suddenly joins in. She runs indoors, and watches from a balcony as he sings "One Song". The two are immediately infatuated with each other. Watching from above is the Queen, who angrily closes the curtains of her window in jealousy. raising his hunting knife]] The Queen summons her huntsman to her and orders him to kill Snow White. The Queen asks him to bring her heart back in a special box as proof that he has succeeded in the task. The Huntsman takes Snow White to a secluded glade and, checking that no one else is present, advances on the princess as she is helping a young bird return to its parents. Snow White sees the Huntsman's shadow on the rock in front of her, turns around and screams in terror. However, the Huntsman cannot bring himself to kill her upon seeing the beauty in a princess such as herself and begs Snow White for forgiveness. He tells her of the Queen's insane jealousy and tells her to run away and never come back. She takes his advice and flees through the forest, and her fright is manifested in the plants around her; branches suddenly resemble claw-like hands, and floating logs resemble crocodiles. Overcome by terror, she eventually collapses, sobbing. As light enters the forest, the woodland creatures cautiously approach Snow White while she cries, and she befriends them. Together they sing "With A Smile And A Song". No longer frightened, Snow White asks the animals if they know where she can stay. They lead her to the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs; she enters and finds that no one is home. Noticing that the whole cottage is a complete mess, she cleans the house, with the help of the animals. She hopes that its residents, whom she believes to be children due to the size of the furniture, will let her stay if she cleans up for them. At this point she sings "Whistle While You Work". Later that evening, she and the animals go upstairs to find seven little beds. Feeling sleepy, she falls asleep over three of them. The Seven Dwarfs return home from a day's work at the Dwarfs' Mine. They see light coming from the window of their cottage and smoke coming from its chimney. They enter the house, creeping around as they search for the 'monster' they believe that has invaded their home. They hear a noise (some birds from the forest, joking about) coming from upstairs, and, after an unsuccessful attempt by Dopey to chase the thing down, they enter the bedroom together. They approach the three beds that are being slept in, and are about to strike when Doc removes the bed cover to reveal Snow White sleeping. They are all infatuated with her, but Grumpy grumbles about her unwelcome presence, waking her up. She is first startled by the dwarfs, but soon befriends them, guessing the names of Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Dopey and Grumpy because their names are carved on the beds. All the dwarfs except for Grumpy agree that Snow White is welcome to stay if she does the housework for them. A noise from downstairs reminds Snow White that she has left some soup boiling. She rushes downstairs, and tells the dwarfs that it is almost ready, and that they will have time to wash. She asks the dwarfs to see their hands and, upon seeing that their hands are dirty, insists them to march straight outside and wash; otherwise, they will not get anything to eat. The dwarfs reluctantly march outside and wash while singing Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum (The Dwarfs' Washing Song). They have just finished washing themselves when Snow White calls to them that supper is ready. After supper, the dwarfs perform "The Silly Song" for Snow White, and she dances with Dopey (who reaches her height by standing on Sneezy's shoulders). She then repays them when she sings "Some Day My Prince Will Come" as the dwarfs listen. The dwarfs then declare that Snow White will sleep upstairs, and that the dwarfs will find somewhere to sleep downstairs. Before Snow White goes to sleep, she says her prayers, blessing the seven little men for being so kind to her and wishing to make her dreams come true, as well as asking to make Grumpy like her. At the Queen's Castle, the Queen, after being told by the Magic Mirror that Snow White still lives, descends into her laboratory and transforms into the Witch. She prepares the Poisoned Apple, one bite of which will send its victim into the Sleeping Death, which can only be cured by 'Love's First Kiss'. Believing the dwarves will bury the princess alive, the Witch leaves the castle and proceeds towards the Dwarfs' Cottage. The next morning, Snow White kisses each dwarf goodbye as they leave for the mine. Before Grumpy leaves (being the last one to depart), he warns her not to let anyone or anything in the house. Touched that he cares despite his negative exterior, Snow White decides to bake a pie for Grumpy with help from her animal friends. But she is then startled by the appearance of an old peddler woman who was actually, unbeknownst her, her wicked stepmother in disguise, peering through her window. She offers Snow White the apple, but is attacked by the woodland creatures, who sensed danger in her presence. Snow White shoos the animals away and takes the old woman inside for a drink of water. Meanwhile, the animals rush off to fetch the dwarfs. Thankful toward Snow White for being so good to "poor old Granny," the Queen tells her that the apple is no ordinary apple; but is a magic wishing apple, capable of making all of Snow White's wishes come true with a single bite. Snow White takes the apple and, before taking a bite, wishes for the Prince to carry her away to his castle, where they will live happily ever after. The Queen then persuades her to take a bite before the wish grows cold. Snow White does so and soon falls to the floor after feeling the poison's effects, which causes her to fall into a Sleeping Death. As the Queen is leaving, she is seen by the dwarfs, who chase her to a cliff, where she falls to her death to be eaten by vultures. The dwarfs find Snow White and they grieve her "death" as they return home. In mourning, they hold a funeral for her at their cottage. Finding her so beautiful, even in death, they cannot find it in their hearts to bury her and instead place her in a handmade coffin carved of glass and gold. As the time goes by, the Prince hears of this and rides to the clearing where her coffin has been placed. The dwarfs make way for the Prince to approach Snow White. He then gives the princess a kiss, a "Love's First Kiss", which breaks the curse, reviving Snow White. She wakes up and, upon seeing the Prince, extends her arms out to him as he scoops her up in her arms. The dwarfs rejoice, as the Prince carries Snow White to his horse. She kisses each dwarf goodbye before leaving with the Prince for his castle (the outline of which is shown in the clouds above), where they live happily ever after.